STATE of Florida, Petitioner,
v.
Bunyan L. KENDRICK, Jr., Respondent.
Supreme Court of Florida.
*354 Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Richard G. Pippinger, Asst. Atty. Gen., for petitioner.
James A. Gardner, Public Defender, and Harold H. Moore and Steven H. Denman, Asst. Public Defenders, for respondent.
ADKINS, Justice.
Certiorari was granted to review a decision of the District Court of Appeal, Second District (Kendrick v. State,
Charged with aggravated assault and with resisting arrest with violence, respondent pleaded not guilty. Then, on the date set for trial, he withdrew the not guilty pleas and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and to resisting arrest without violence. At the change-of-plea proceedings, the trial court accepted the guilty pleas after determining that they were freely and voluntarily made. But the court failed, at that time, to determine a factual basis for the pleas.
At the sentencing proceeding, however, the trial court considered the presentence investigation report; the court also considered depositions in which witnesses stated that respondent possessed a knife at the time of the alleged aggravated assault. Respondent denied possession of a knife. Nevertheless, the court sentenced respondent to three years on the aggravated assault charge. Respondent was also sentenced on the charge of resisting arrest without violence.
Respondent appealed to the District Court of Appeal, challenging the guilty pleas because of the trial court's failure to determine their factual basis. The District Court of Appeal [Kendrick v. State,
Subsequently, the State filed a petition for writ of certiorari with this Court, claiming that the decision of the District Court of Appeal conflicts with the following decisions: Hall v. State,
The circumstances of the Kendrick and Hall cases are strikingly similar. The defendants in both cases entered guilty pleas which the respective trial courts accepted. At the sentencing proceedings, the defendants in both cases denied elements of the charges against them; despite the denials, both trial courts sentenced the defendants. Yet, where the Kendrick court reversed judgment and sentence, the Hall court affirmed judgment and sentence. But as the Hall court specifically stated, the two cases are distinguishable. See Hall v. State, supra at 227. Upon review of the Hall decision, it is clear that the trial court therein made adequate inquiry into the factual basis of the guilty plea. It is equally clear that the trial court in Kendrick failed to *355 make an adequate inquiry. The two cases are not in conflict.
There is no conflict with Estes v. State, supra. The defendant in Estes did not "say or contend that indeed there was no factual basis for his guilty plea."
Nor is there conflict with Mower v. State, supra. In Mower, the District Court noted that the trial judge made adequate inquiry into the factual basis of the defendant's guilty plea; judgment and sentence were affirmed. Further, the Mower opinion does not indicate that the defendant, during the course of the trial court proceedings, disputed the evidence or denied any element of the crime charged.
Finally, Kendrick does not conflict with Reyes v. Kelly, supra. The issue in Reyes was whether the trial court's acceptance of the defendant's plea of guilty caused former jeopardy to attach. The dictum in which the Reyes court construed the predecessor of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(j) generates no conflict because the factual basis requirement was not added to the rule until after Reyes. See In re Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure,
Thus, the decision below conflicts with none of the four decisions suggested by the State. But as will be shown herein, the decision below does conflict with a decision of this Court. Accordingly, we have jurisdiction pursuant to Fla. Const. art. V, § 3(b)(3), F.S.A.
It is settled that the presence of a deadly weapon is an essential element of aggravated assault. See, e.g., Goswick v. State,
This Court recently recognized that where a defendant claims a defense during the course of a guilty plea proceeding, the plea may be subject to attack. Williams v. State,
The court below reversed the judgment and sentence for aggravated assault. That result conflicts with the result reached by this Court in State v. Lyles, supra, where we indicated that a plea entered and accepted under the above-outlined circumstances should not be vacated. In Lyles, we stated:
"We direct the District Court to remand this cause to the trial court for the following purposes: (a) to make inquiry of the defendant and his counsel concerning their discussions relative to the defenses to the charge; (b) to receive evidence of a factual basis for the plea; and (c) to allow the defendant an opportunity to present evidence on his own behalf to show how, if at all, manifest injustice occurred."316 So.2d at 279 .
In our opinion, the Lyles result is the proper one. Accordingly, the decision of the District Court is quashed. The cause is remanded with directions to remand this cause to the trial court for proceedings consistent with Lyles and with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, C.J., and ROBERTS, BOYD and ENGLAND, JJ., concur.
